Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant

Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station currently under construction in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southernIndian state of Tamil Nadu. Project investment cost to India was estimated to be US$ 3 billion (Rs.13,615 Crores) in a 2001 agreement.

As of October 2011, thousands of protesters and villagers living around the plant, are blocking highways and staging hunger strikes, preventing further construction work, as they believe that the nuclear plant is unsafe. On November 6th, 2011 Former Indian President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam visited the Plant and expressed his satisfaction about the Safety of the Plant. 

As of October 2011, thousands of protesters and villagers living around the Russian-built Koodankulam nuclear plant in the southern Tamil Nadu province, are blocking highways and staging hunger strikes, preventing further construction work, and demanding its closure as they distrust federal government assurances regarding safety. They fear there will be a nuclear accident similar to the radiation leak in March at Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster.

According to SP Udayakumar, of the voluntary People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, "the nuclear plant is unsafe" and "the safety analysis report and the site evaluation study have not been made public. No public hearing was held. It's an authoritarian project that has been imposed on the people." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Tamil Naud Chief Minister J Jayalalitha that "all precautions would be taken at the Koodankulam nuclear plant to maintain the highest safety standards".

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed against the government’s civil nuclear program at the apex Supreme Court. The PIL specifically asks for the "staying of all proposed nuclear power plants till satisfactory safety measures and cost-benefit analyses are completed by independent agencies".

Kalam suggests 10-point development programme for Kudankulam

Following are Kalam's 10 points or, what we could call Koodan 'Kalam':

1. Construction of a four-lane highway connecting Kudankulam and villages 30 km around it with Madurai, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari,

2. A world-class hospital with over 500 beds, mobile medical facilities to locals and

3. Creation of 10,000 jobs to people in the radius of 30 to 60 km

4. Bank loans to youth with up to 25 per cent subsidy.

5. Creating infrastructure facilities like construction of green houses, multi-storeyed housing complex, and playgrounds.

6. Fishermen in the area should be provided with motorboats, small jetties and fish cold storage facilities.

7. Provide one million litres of drinking water through desalination process and water should be brought from Pechiparai reservoir in Kanyakumari district for agriculture and drinking water needs.

8. Setting up of five CBSE and state government syllabus schools with hostel facilities

9. Connecting all villages through broadband Internet and

10. Setting up of Disaster Protection and Management Centre and guiding selected youth to get permanent employment.

In his study report submitted to the state government, Kalam also suggested creating infrastructure facilities like construction of green houses, multi-storeyed housing complex, and playgrounds.

He said fishermen in the area should be provided with motorboats, small jetties and fish cold storage facilities.

Kalam, a strong advocate of nuclear power, and who prepared the report along with his advisor V. Ponraj, said: "Efforts should be made to remove people's fears by providing relevant information and with their full co-operation, the plant should start functioning as scheduled to enable Tamil Nadu to get 1000 MW power."

No tsunami theat

The Koodankulam plant, Kalam said, is located in seismic zone II where there is no chance of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 point on Richter scale.

The reactor building is built in such a way as to tolerate such an earthquake. On the tsunami threat, the Kalam report states that the site is located about 1,500 km from the tsunamigenic fault (where tsunamis originate).

Hence, geologically and scientifically, there is no chance of a tsunami hitting the Kudankulam coast, according to the report. Even if there is a tsunami, the waves will lose energy by the time they strike the Kudankulam site.

If there is a tsunami, wave height would not exceed 5.44 metres, whereas the reactor is located at 8.7 metres height, turbine plant at 8.1 metres, diesel generators at 9.3 metres height, and switch yard at a height of 13 metres, the report states.

According to Kalam, the reactor will automatically shut down in three minutes flat in case of natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis.

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